Love: Islamic Style

Back in the day there you used to be a show on the tube called Love American Style. It would offer three or four vignettes detailing the many ins and outs (ahem) and ups and downs of love. Imagine if there was a program called Love Islamic Style. Just think how much fun that would be, especially with real-life stories like these!

Man Marries 58 Times in 50 Years
"JEDDAH, 19 March 2004 — In 50 years, Saleh Al-Saieri, a Saudi businessman has married 58 women, including eight Yemenis, and then divorced 54 of them. Every time the wives hear that Al-Saieri has found a new prospect, they begin wondering who is next to go.

Al-Saieri’s extended family includes 36 children from 15 wives and he has married into 30 tribes across Saudi Arabia.

As soon as Al-Saieri gets the itch to marry again, he draws lots between the current four wives to choose which one will be divorced. Under Islamic Shariah, he is not allowed to marry more than four wives at a time..."

"An office manager handles all the requirements of the ex-wives and children. Until now, Al-Saieri has forked out SR6 million in payments and wedding expenses."

‘You Marry My Daughter and I’ll Marry Yours!’
"With the aim of strengthening business ties, two Riyadh business partners in their 70s have married their teenage daughters (17-19) to each other, reported Sayidaty magazine, a sister publication of Arab News..."

When asked if they had consulted their daughters, Al-Qahtani said: “I did not ask my daughter. I don’t have to. I know what is beneficial for her. When I told her what I had planned, she was happy. If she hadn’t been, she would have told her mother.”

Al-Dossary said: “In bedouin culture, a girl does not have the right to express her opinion about marriage, especially if her father and brothers have decided on a particular man. In both our cases, we have been married for a long time and have had no problems with our wives. Although we are much older than our wives, the fact that we are together proves that we are right for each other.”

He added: “Saudi girls, especially bedouins, prefer to marry old men. This is what my third and fourth wives have both told me. They keep telling me they are glad that they did not marry young men.”

Temporary 'Enjoyment Marriages' In Vogue Again With Some Iraqis
"BAGHDAD -- Fatima Ali was a 24-year-old divorcee with no high school diploma and no job. Shawket al-Rubae was a 34-year-old Shiite sheik with a pregnant wife who, he said, could not have sex with him.

Ali wanted someone to take care of her. Rubae wanted a companion.

They met one afternoon in May at the house he shares with his wife, in the room where he accepts visitors seeking his religious counsel. He had a proposal. Would Ali be his temporary wife? He would pay her 5,000 Iraqi dinars upfront -- about $4 -- in addition to her monthly expenses. About twice a week over the next eight months, he would summon her to a house he would rent..."